Saturday, December 17, 2011

Spiced Apple Cider and a Holiday Cookbook Giveaway

Can you believe how fast December has gone by so far? I have quite a few things left to do on my list and very little time do it in! This year, I'm spending the holidays in New York - it's the first time that I will be spending the holidays outside of a 'home' - we usually spend the time off at our family home in the South of France. Living in North America now, it always feels great to take the time to go to back to my French roots and recharge but we are switching it up this year! It won't be a home-cooked meal but it will be a delicious New York staple restaurant and instead of lazy days by the fire, we will be catching up with New York's busy Christmas streets. I'm wrapping a few small gifts for my family to pack in my suitcase - just a few presents that are sure to please. Sometimes the holidays end up being a hectic time of running back and forth trying to find the perfect gifts for one another - which in my family can be quite the challenge! Most of my immediate family is not materialistic in the least (which overall is a good thing!) but makes it difficult to attempt to pick something out. So this year, we are keeping it simple and sticking to what really matters in the end: spending time together. That might sound a tad cheesy but that's exactly what it's going to be!

And now for a very fitting recipe ....spiced apple cider! It's perfect
for this time of year - soothing and filled with holiday flavours.

Place all the ingredients in a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Strain and serve immediately, garnished with cinnamon sticks. Enjoy!

And now for a little holiday joy!

I will be giving a copy of Vegan Holiday Kitchen to one lucky reader. This pretty book is filled with festive vegan recipes to be enjoyed throughout the year - from Thanksgiving recipe ideas to Christmas and Jewish holiday recipes. If you're not familiar with vegan food this book will help give you an idea of the flavourful dishes you can make that just happen to be vegan. To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment on this post or on Chocolate Shaving's facebook page letting me know what your favourite holiday tradition is. If you enter a comment on both pages, your name will be entered in the contest twice. The contest closes December 30th at midnight. Only American and Canadian residents are eligible. Good luck!

I would have to say that my favorite holiday tradition is cooking and baking with my mom! Ever since I was old enough to help in the kitchen, the holidays are always full of savoury main dishes and scores of Christmas cookies!

My favorite holiday tradition is being able to pull out my Rabies Tag Christmas tree...it may sound odd, but being a Vet Tech for 7 years, I have collected all kinds of cool tags. I have ones from all over the country, and County Tags from the 1950's, plus the ones of my beloved furry "kids" that are no longer with me. All of these tags decorate a little 2 ft fake Christmas Tree in a red bucket :) It's actually quite cute, and has shown up at a few clinics I've worked for as decoration ♥

The holiday season is a barrage of fun traditions! It's hard to pick just one. I think I really love spending that afternoon decorating the Christmas tree. We drink spiced cider (the fresh ginger is SUCH a must!), throw candy cane ornaments at the tree. Put on holiday tunes. It's a festive time. :)

Baking and giving my christmas cookies! This American (or, at least, Anglophone-North-American) tradition was not part of French-Canadian childhood Christmases, but I started baking several kinds of cookies (gingerbread of course, italian cuccidati, sugar cookies, homemade oreos, etc.) and other homemade goodies for gift-giving in 2005 or 2006 and they are now my favorite part of Christmas.

My favorite tradition is decorating Mom's house for Christmas with my brothers and sister...digging out all the ornaments that we made as kids, putting up the creche, stringing lights. All of it usually done a few days before Christmas (if not the night before!) and accompanied by copious amounts of spiked hot cocoa and eggnog and waaaay too many cookies. :)